Program Notes
Cooling Kits Now Available
As the summer approaches, the heat and humidity can often cause adverse effects for individuals with MS. Recognizing this, MSAA provides special cooling apparel at no charge to individuals with MS through its national Cooling Distribution Program.
This year, MSAA has revised the program to include five different cooling kits in an attempt to make the selection process easier and more effective for our client members. All kits will include a vest, collar, and set of wrist bands. These three products address the three primary cooling points on the body (torso, neck, and wrists).
Clients eligible for the program will be able to choose one of the five cooling kits that best fit their needs. They may also choose two accessories from a selection of 12. The accessories are additional products to help meet cooling needs, such as a variety of hats, seat pads, and items for your hands and feet.
These products offer a mild cooling effect which allows people to enjoy the outdoors in warm weather. They use three different methods to create a cooling effect.
The first type of cooling is through evaporation. Through evaporative cooling, products are soaked in cool water and towel dried. This activates crystals inside the garment and evaporation lowers the temperature of the product. This type of cooling is not recommended for humid climates.
The second type of cooling uses ice packs that are inserted into the pockets or pouches of the apparel. The ice packs are frozen at 32 degrees and release the maximum amount of cooling energy from a non-therapeutic system.
The third type of cooling involves gel packs. Similar to ice packs, the gel packs are inserted into the pockets or pouches of the apparel, but are cooled to 45 degrees. These products do not offer the same cooling energy as ice packs, but are especially helpful for those who travel and can bring along a portable cooler to recharge the packs (making them cool again).
The Cooling Distribution Program also offers clients the possibility of receiving a cooling therapy system which is used indoors for those with severe heat intolerance. The cooling therapy system uses a pump to circulate cool water through tubes sewn into a vest. This type of cooling attempts to reduce brain and spinal tissue temperature by a small amount and requires a physician's prescription.
For those interested in applying to the MSAA Cooling Distribution Program, please contact MSAA by calling (800) 532-7667. Readers may also download the application forms at www.msaa.com.
— Peter Damiri
